Edge guide for sewing machines



June 4, 1935. c. F. RUBEL I EDGE GUIDE FOR SEWING MACHINES Filed Dec. 5, 1933 mlira .19 l

1 rzw m dH Patented June 4, 1935 PATENT OFFICE EDGE GUIDE-FOR SEWING. MACHINES 7 Charles F. Rubel, Chicago, 111., as signor to Union Special Machine Company, Chicago, 111;, a corporation of Illinois Application December 5, 1933, Serial No. 701,032

4 Claims. (01. 112-153) The invention relates to new and useful improvements inan edge guide for sewing machines, and more particularly to an edge guide for directingoverlapped fabric sections to a stitch forming mechanism.

An object of the invention is to provide an edge guide which shall be of few parts, simple in construction, and wherein the fabric sections guided thereby may-be caused: to pass relatively close to 1.0 thework support, of. the sewing machine.

A further object of the invention is to provide an edge guide of the :above type which may be used for directing twofabric sections so-that, at will; theedge portion. of either fabricsection' may 15, be placed on, top without changing the; relative arrangement of the fabric sections. in the sewing machine. I 1. 7

A still further'object of the invention is to'provide an edge guide which is, adjustable for varying 29. theextentfof' the overlap of the fabric sections, and wherein, when an adjustment is made for one lapping arrangementit will apply equally to the other lapping arrangement, so that'in either case the fabric sections will be lapped to the same extent.

In the drawing- 7 s Figure 1 is a vertical sectional view; through a portion of the sewing machine showing the improved edge guide applied thereto;

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the edge guide showing in broken lines the arrangement of the fabric sections which are being guided thereby;

Fig. 3 is a front view of the edge guide, also showing in section two fabric sections with their edge portions lapped;

Fig. 4 is a bottom plan view of the edge guide with parts broken away to show the manner of attaching certain of the parts of the edge guide whereby they may beadjusted;

Fig. 5' is a sectional" viewon the line 5-5 of Fig. 2; I

Fig. 6 is a 'view in perspective showing more or less diagrammatically two fabric sections,'with a lapping arrangement of" the edge portions which may be obtained on the improved edge guide, and

Fig. '7 is a similar view, showing another lapping arrangement of the edge portions which may be accomplished on the edge guide and without re-arranging the fabric sections'relative tothe machine;

The machine to which the edge guide is attached forms no part of the present invention,

ut has been illustrated so as'to show the position of the edge guide relative to the work support and the stitching mechanism. The machine as illustrated includes a work support I beneath which are. disposed the loopers 2 of the stitch forming mechanism. The machine has the usual over-. hanging arm carrying aneedle head 3 in which a needle bar 4 is reciprocated, and this needle bar, as shown in the drawing, is-provided with three needles 5, 6 and 1. There is a looper cooperating with each needle, so that three independent lines of stitching are produced. The material is held on the work support by a presser foot 8, andis fed across the work support by the usual feeding mechanism, not shown. i

The edge guide forming thepresent invention consists of a base member on whichall the parts of the edge guide are supported. This base member has a section thereof indicated at 9 which is adapted to be attached to the cloth plate. This section of the guide is formedwith' a slot "Land one or more clamping. screws ll pass through the slot for adjustably: securing the edge guide to the cloth plate. This base member-also has a section thereof indicated at I? which overhangs the work support so as to provide therebeneath a space for guiding and'directing the fabric section. Thesection l2 of the base member, as shown, is integral with the section 9, and the metal is bent so as to offset this section l2. The section l2 serves as a fabric support for the fabric sectionwhich is indicated at F in Fig.3. This fabric supporting section l2 of the base member has an upwardly extending portion l3 at; its outer end. The inner side .I l'of this extensiorr'serves'as an edge guide for the fabric section F. I Mounted on top of this. extension I3 is a fabric supporting member liwhich overhangs the edge guide and the fabric supporting section I2 onwhich' the fabric section F rests. This member [.56 is provided with an upwardly extending portion I 6 and a rearwardly extending portion IT. A second fabric section F may be placed on top of this fabric supporting member l5, and the upturnedportion I 6 will serve as an edge guide therefor. The rearwardly turned portion ll serves to hold down and guide the edge portion of the fabric section. This fabric supporting member l5 has a side member I8 formed therewith, which extends down; alongside of the fabric engaging section l2 of the base member, and also alongside of the extension l3. This side member I8 is provided with a slotv l9 and a screw 20' passing through the slot isithreadedinto a lateral enlargement of the base member extension. This serves as a means for securing the fabric supporting member I5 to the base member. The fabric supporting section I2 of the base member has an upstanding rib 2| which, at the inner face thereof, is in alinement with the edge guide M. This rib projects above the upper face of the extension l3 and terminates substantially at the upper face of the fabric supporting member I5. The side l5a of this fabric supporting member [5 will contact with this rib 2|, and this aids in the positioning of the fabric engaging member l5 so that its guiding edge I6 is parallel to the guiding edge I4 of the fabric engaging section of the base member. The rib also contacting with the end |8a of the side member, serves as a stop to limit the shifting movement of the guide to the right, as viewed in Figures 2 and 3.

On the under side of the fabric supporting section I 2 is a plate 22. This plate is formed integral with the side member l8 and also extends around the end of the fabric supporting section l2 and the extension l3, and is formed integral with the fabric supporting member [5. The parts are so dimensioned that the plate 22 contacts with the under face of the fabric supporting section l2. The inner edge of the plate 22 is turned downward as indicated at 23 and forms the edge guide for a fabric section. The edge guide 23 and the edge guide l6 are, therefore, rigid with the same supporting structure, and will always remain in a fixed relation to each other. If the edge guide [6 is shifted to the right, then the edge guide 23 will be shifted to the right.

When the fabric sections aredirected to the edge guide as shown in Fig. 3, the fabric section F has its edge portion overlying the edge portion of the fabric section F, and when the fabric sections are directed to the stitching mechanism, lines of stitching indicated at a, b and 0 will be formed by the needles 5, 6 and 1, respectively. The direction of feed is indicated by the arrow in this figure. Let us suppose it is desired to place the edge portion of the fabric section F on top as indicated in Fig. '7. Then the operator will place the fabric section F in the same guiding recess as before, with its edge contacting with the edge guide I 4, but the fabric section F will be placed underneath the plate 22, and its edge in contact with the guide 23.

Let us suppose that it is desirable'to lap the edge portions to a greateror less extent, and maintain its extent of lap, regardless of which fabric section is on top. The screw 20 is loosened, and the fabric supporting member I5 is shifted, and as this is shifted, the plate 22 likewise will be shifted, and thus the edge guides 16 and 23 will be simultaneously shifted to a new set position. Whatever the extent of variation in the lap of the fabric sections may be, it will apply equally to their arrangement of the lapped sections. The lap in either case will be the same extent. It will be noted that the fabric section, when passed beneath the fabric supporting section 12 rests on the work support. The space between the plate .22 and the work support is only sufilcient to permit free guiding of the fabric section. The fabric supporting section I2 can be, therefore, placed relatively close to the work support. Likewise, the fabric supporting member I5 is spaced above the fabric supporting section 12, only sufficient to permit the free movement of the fabric section F, and therefore, the fabric section F when directed over the fabric supporting member I5 is relatively close to the worksupport. This enables the fabric sections to be easily passedrbeneath the presser foot and rest on the work support during the stitching thereof.

The base member is attached to the work support so that it may be adjusted. This is for the purpose of centering the lapped sections relative to the stitching mechanism when the edge guides l6 and 23 are adjusted for varying the extent of overlap. When the edge guides I 6 and 23 are shifted relative to the edge guide M, then the extent of overlap is varied relative to the position of the edge guide l4, and it becomes necessary to shift the edge guide l4 relative to the stitching mechanism to maintain the lapped sections centered.

It is obvious that minor changes in the details of construction may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention as set forth in the appended claims.

Having thus described the invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters- Patent, is

1. In a sewing machine, a stitch forming mechanism, a work support, a guide for directing overlapped fabric sections to the stitching mechanism, including a base member having a section adapted to'be attached to the work support and a fabric supporting section offset therefrom and extending parallel with the work support so as to provide a space therebeneath for the guiding of a fabric section, said fabric supporting section at its outer end having an upwardly extending portion forming at its inner side an edge guide fora fabric section, a fabric supporting member contacting with the upper face of said extension and extending beyond said edge guide so as to overhang the fabric supporting section of the base member and form a fabricguiding means for the fabric section contacting with said edge guide, said fabric supporting member having an upturned and backwardly extending section forming an edge gu'idefor the fabric section resting thereon, a plate'formed integral with said fabric engaging member and disposed beneath said fabric engaging section of the base member, said plate having a depending member at its inner end adapted to serve as an edge guide for a fabric section when directed beneath said fabric supporting section of the base member, and means whereby said fabric supporting member and said plate may be simultaneously adjusted on said base supporting member to different set positions for varying the extent of overlap in the fabric sections.

2. In a sewing machine, a stitch forming mechanism, a work support, a guide for directing overlapping fabric sections to the stitching mechanism, including a base member having a section adapted to be attached to the work support and a fabric supporting section offset therefrom and extending parallel with the work support so as to provide a space therebeneath for the guid-, ing of a fabric section, said fabric supporting section at its outer end having an upwardly extending portion forming at its inner side'an edge guide for a fabric section, a fabric supporting member contacting with the upper face of said extension and extending beyond said edge guide so as to overhang the fabric supporting section of the base member and form a fabric guiding means for the fabric section contacting with said edge guide, said fabric supporting member having an upturned and backwardly extending section. forming an edge guide for the fabric section resting thereon, a plate formed integral with said fabric engaging member and disposed beneath said fabric engaging section of the base member, said plate having a depending member at its inner end adapted to serve as an edge guide for a fabric section when directed beneath said fabric supporting section of the base member, said base member being adjustably attached to the work support whereby it may be shifted to different set positions, said fabric supporting member and said plate being adjustably attached to the fabric supporting section of the base member, whereby the edge guides carried thereby may be shifted to difierent set positions and the eX- tent of overlap varied and centered relative to the stitching mechanism.

3. In a sewing machine, a stitch forming mechanism, a work support and a guide for directing overlapped fabric sections to the stitching mechanism, said guide including a base member attached to the Work sup-port and having a free end raised above and extending parallel to the plane of the Work support whereby work may pass under said free end, said free end terminating in a vertical section adapted to serve as an edge guide for one ply of the material and said free end having attached thereto a member having vertical walls extending above and below said free end in a common vertical plane, said vertical walls serving as edge guides for material passing either above or below said free end whereby fabric sections may be fed to the stitch forming mechanism overlapped to a uniform extent in either direction. a

4. In a sewing machine, a stitch forming mechanism, a work support and a guide for directing overlapped fabric sections to the stitching mechanism, said guide including a base member attached to the work support and having a free end raised above and extending parallel to the plane of the work support whereby work may pass under said free end, said free end terminating in a vertical section adapted to serve as an edge guide for one ply of the material and said free end having adjustably attached thereto a member having vertical wallsextending above and below said free end in a common vertical plane, said vertical walls serving as edge guides for material passing either above or below said free end whereby fabric sections may be fed to the stitch forming mechanism overlapped to a uniform extent in either direction.

CHARLES F. RUBEL. 

